Which business phone systems record and transcribe calls?
Recording and transcription are separate features, and plans split on the second: on Olatti, recording is on every plan, and call and voicemail transcription and summaries come with Plus and Unlimited. Metered records calls but doesn't transcribe them. Prices are on the pricing page.
Do business phone systems record calls as standard?
Recording is a plan feature, so check it on the plan you are pricing. On Olatti, recording is on Metered, Plus and Unlimited. Check the exact words on the provider's plan page: "available" and "included" are different things. Ask three things: is it on the plan I'm pricing, how long are recordings kept, and can an administrator delete one.
Retention differs by plan too. On Olatti, recording storage is one month on Metered, 12 months on Plus and three years on Unlimited. The longer periods suit a firm that has to keep an accurate record of what was agreed. The short one suits a team that only wants to listen back to last week's calls.
What is the difference between a recording and a transcript?
A recording is the audio. A transcript is the words as text, and a summary is a short account of what was agreed. Audio has to be played at the speed it was spoken. Text can be searched, so you can find the call where a customer mentioned a delivery date without listening to forty minutes of other calls.
Which plans include transcription and summaries?
On Olatti, call and voicemail transcription and summaries come with Plus and Unlimited, not Metered. On Microsoft Teams Phone, AI call recaps need a Teams Premium or Copilot licence on top of Teams Phone and a calling plan. Three providers I could check on 26 October 2026:
- Olatti: recording on every plan. Call and voicemail transcription and summaries on Plus and Unlimited. See Olatti pricing.
- Microsoft Teams Phone: AI call recaps for phone calls need a Teams Premium or Microsoft Copilot licence, plus a Teams Phone licence and a calling plan. An administrator must switch transcription on. Source: Microsoft Learn, intelligent recap (opens in a new tab).
- Dialpad: its pricing page lists transcripts and AI call summaries on its Connect plans. Prices showed in dollars when I looked, so get a UK quote. Source: Dialpad pricing (opens in a new tab).
For anything not in that list, I'd rather you check the provider's current plan comparison than take my word or a review site's.
Is it legal to record and transcribe business calls in the UK?
Yes, with conditions. The ICO's guidance on monitoring workers says you need to tell people on the call that you're recording and why, and describes a recorded message as good practice (ICO, monitoring workers (opens in a new tab)). It names evidence of business transactions, training and quality control as reasons a business can record.
A transcript is personal data in the same way the audio is, so the same lawful basis, the same notice and the same retention period apply to it. The full rules, including the 2000 Regulations, are in our post on recording business calls under UK law. I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice.
Where does the audio go to be transcribed?
Some providers send call audio to a third-party AI service to produce the transcript, so the audio can leave the provider's own systems. Ask which, and in which country it runs, because the answer goes into your privacy notice.
At Olatti, voice, transcription and summaries run on We UC's own infrastructure, in its own data centres, not a third-party AI vendor's. We UC is the company that builds Olatti. That is a fact about our setup, and the privacy policy is where the detail sits. Whatever provider you pick, get the same answer in writing.
Can staff pause a recording?
Pausing matters when someone reads out card details or gives health information. Pause and resume is on Plus and Unlimited, and not on Metered. Check this on any system before you rely on it for payments.
What should I test in a trial?
Make three calls and look at what comes back.
- Ring in from a mobile, say a customer name and a delivery date, and see whether the search finds the call by those words.
- Leave a voicemail and check the transcript arrives where the owner will see it.
- Ask how a recording is deleted when its retention period ends or a person asks, and have the provider show you.
A short trial tells you more than a feature table does. Our answer on searching past calls by what was said shows what to look for in the search itself.
Frequently asked questions
Does every business phone system transcribe calls? No. Among the systems compared above, transcription is a plan feature or a paid add-on. On Olatti it comes with Plus and Unlimited.
How long does Olatti keep call recordings? One month on Metered, 12 months on Plus and three years on Unlimited.
Do I have to tell callers I'm recording? Yes, the ICO says you need to tell them you're recording and why. A recorded message at the start of the call is the usual way.
Is a transcript covered by UK GDPR? Yes. It's personal data like the recording, so keep it only as long as you need it.
Can I keep my number and still get transcripts? Yes. Porting a number is separate from the plan, and costs £20 when the port is raised and £5 a month per ported number. See number porting.
Pick the plan by what you'll do with the calls
If you want to listen back now and then, Metered covers it. If you want to find what was said, you need transcripts, which means Plus or Unlimited. The business phone system overview shows where recording sits alongside numbers, routing and desk phones, and you can start for free (opens in a new tab) and test the three calls above yourself.